Barbara Bradley Baekgaard, co-founder and chief creative officer of
Vera Bradley, will receive the Icon Honors 2014 Lifetime Achievement
Honor at a July 10 ceremony at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis during the summer Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market.

The award traditionally caps the recognitions bestowed at the home and gift industry’s annual Icon Honors celebration.

It is conferred by the Icon Honors board of governors, which is
co-chaired by Icon Honors founder Jeffrey L. Portman Sr., vice chairman,
president and chief operating officer of Icon sponsor Americasmart
Atlanta, and George Kacic, president of Giftcraft and Icon Honors
founding partner.

Icon Honors is produced by Americasmart Atlanta in partnership with
the Gift & Home Trade Assn. and Progressive Business Media,
publisher of Home Accents Today.

The Lifetime Achievement Honor celebrates Baekgaard’s enduring
imprint on the gift, fashion and home sector through the continuing
influence of the Vera Bradley brand of handbags, travel accessories and
gifts, Portman said.

Baekgaard co-founded Vera Bradley in 1982 and was its co-president
from 1982 through June 2010. She was named chief creative officer in May
2010. She has provided leadership and strategic direction in the
brand’s development in areas such as marketing, product design,
assortment planning and the design and visual merchandising of the
company’s stores.

She currently serves on the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon
Cancer Center development board and as a board member of the Vera
Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer.

Baekgaard received the Country Living Entrepreneur Award in 2007 and
the Gifts and Decorative Accessories Industry Achievement Award in 2006.

“Barbara embodies American entrepreneurism. She is a pioneer and a
dreamer, naturally dauntless and always ready for the next creative
adventure,” Portman said. “Her life and her career give voice to the
hopes and dreams of all who aspire to do great things.”

The 2014 Icon Honors ceremonies on July 10 will be the centerpiece event
of the Atlanta International Gift & Home Furnishings Market,
recognizing the best and the brightest in the home and gift industry.